PEKING DUCK IN CHINATOWN

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” - Luciano Pavarotti

I had a very busy day at work today, even though it was only a half-day at the office. In the afternoon we had our graduation in Melbourne and it turned to be quite an occasion at the Melbourne Town Hall, with many students, family and friends attending as well as a very sizeable turn out in terms of the academic staff. All of this despite a very cold, wet and miserable day. It meant that it was a 14-hour working day as I start very early, but the latter half was also quite enjoyable as it was devoted to a ceremonial occasion.

The graduation ceremony was organized extremely well and the venue was magnificent. We are very thankful for the rich finds in the Victorian goldfields of the 19th century as they were the reason for Melbourne’s prosperity and construction at that time of such magnificent public buildings as the Town Hall.

After the graduation we had a cocktail party for the graduates and their families with drinks and finger food, which allowed us to circulate and talk to them. There were overwhelmingly positive remarks and good feedback about he function and it was good to see some of the students I know and meet with their families, including some international students from such far away places as the Seychelles, the Sudan and Indonesia.

Afterwards, a small group of us were hosted to dinner by our CEO and we went to the Da Hu Peking Duck Restaurant in Melbourne’s Chinatown. While this is not one of the best Chinese Restaurants in Melbourne, it offers some reliable dishes and it truly does the specialty duck well. We had a juicy, tender duck with crispy skin served in the traditional way. We enjoyed that very much and the dinner was very pleasant.

Peking Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has a history of centuries, beng prepared in China since the imperial era. It is a signature recipe renowned the world over and is considered one of China’s national dishes.  The duck is prized for the thin, crispy skin and succulent flavoured flesh, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven. The meat is eaten wrapped in paper-thin pancakes with spring onions, julienne cucumber and hoisin sauce. The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this delicacy are Quanjude and Bianyifang, two centuries-old establishments which have become household names.